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1 Nov 2009

Calvin celebrates the defeat of Hondurian golpists

Just saw this comment from Calvin, victory to the workers and indigenous, although always at some cost in lives lost, Calvin went out to Honduras reported and did his bit....take a look at his 21st century socialism website here.

An absolutely stunning victory which vindicates the strategy of President Zelaya and the absolutely heroic Resistance which never surrendered, the Latin American left and especially the leadership of Venezuela and Cuba. President Lula should also be commended for maintaining his solidarity in the teeth of huge opposition from the Brazilian oligarchy.

I would also like to express my thanks to Andy and Socialist Unity for appreciating the significance of Honduras, and providing a space to explain the complexities of the Honduran people’s struggle against dictatorship.

Ever since I reported from inside Honduras in late July, I have been arguing that this coup will be defeated and explaining why. Often I felt like a lone voice and many people I deeply respect told me privately that I was being over-optimistic. My optimism was based on three things: the political maturity of the growing Resistance I witnessed when reporting from Honduras, the changed regional context and leadership of the LatAm left, and an assessment of US imperialism under the new leadership of Obama.

US imperialism is a complicated beast, not a monolith. Obama is not Bush, and it is the cracks and divisions within imperialism (in this case between and within the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Democrat and Republican parties) that create the space for the left to win.

Zelaya’s return is a game-changer that has given fresh impetus to the struggle for the constituent assembly, participatory democracy and socialism. The mistake of the coup leaders was not to sign the San Jose Accord back in July when popular resistance was still in its infancy. By trying to hang on they have created their worst nightmare: a politicised people in revolt against the oligarchy